Clip-In 'Mallet-II' Pedal headaches...

Hey First Post!! Anyways......RE: the Crank Brothers Mallet II platform /eggbeater style clip-in. Had a chance to try out my new set on the trails yesterday and had a heck of a time un-clipping my left foot. The right foot came out fine but the left was way more tight and tensioned. Nearly unable to break free. Can these egg-beater style pedals be adjusted? Looking at the CB website, their instructional PDF was lame and any adjust-ability was unapparent. Anyone have experience with these and loosening them up?
Help out a noob? TIA...

Clip-In 'Mallet-II' Pedal headaches...

Originally Posted by BornOnFire

Hey First Post!! Anyways......RE: the Crank Brothers Mallet II platform /eggbeater style clip-in. Had a chance to try out my new set on the trails yesterday and had a heck of a time un-clipping my left foot. The right foot came out fine but the left was way more tight and tensioned. Nearly unable to break free. Can these egg-beater style pedals be adjusted? Looking at the CB website, their instructional PDF was lame and any adjust-ability was unapparent. Anyone have experience with these and loosening them up?
Help out a noob? TIA...

How do you have your cleats installed? For 15 degree release angle or 20 degree? Best to start with 15. To answer your question, no there is no adjustable tension settings on CB pedals like you might find on others.

This may be what you already read, but it explanation the cleat setup and notes that will be a bit easier to clip out of with use, which I agree with.

Cleats are at 15°. Perhaps after I beat them up a bit and break them in, they'll be a bit nicer on the trails. Regardless, the left side is a mess. I ate dirt yesterday because of it and I'm tempted to just chuck them. I'll have to give it time, I reckon....thanks for the replies folks!

I think I'll hit the lbs and pick up some Shimano 520's.... the adjust-ability is a big plus for me right now. I need the confidence if I'm ever going to get the hang of it. The eggbeaters are nice but not a good 'clip-in beginner' design.... IMHO.....

Clip-In 'Mallet-II' Pedal headaches...

Originally Posted by BornOnFire

I think I'll hit the lbs and pick up some Shimano 520's.... the adjust-ability is a big plus for me right now. I need the confidence if I'm ever going to get the hang of it. The eggbeaters are nice but not a good 'clip-in beginner' design.... IMHO.....

You still need to have the cleat angle correct, no matter which pedal you use.

BTW the quickest/easiest release method is to push your heel out and down to the ground.

Re: Clip-In 'Mallet-II' Pedal headaches...

I had the same issue with rubber soled pearl shoes. I needed to shim the cleat from the bottom of the shoe to get clearance to twist out or it would bind a bit on the rubber and make it tough to get my left foot out. I went so far as to modify the cleats to reduce the release angle by filing down the lip on the cross corner edges that release as you twist your heel outward. That helped as well, but not nearly as much as the shims. I had candy pedals, but the interference was with the eggbeater part not the pedal basket anyhow.

I've seen more issues with Crank Brothers than most other brands with shoe contact. If the sole of the shoe is hanging up on the pedal body it'll be hard to get into and out of. Best solution is to get any other brand of pedal, but something can most likely be improved with your current pedals.